Monday, January 25, 2010

Cheese, Glorious Cheese....

This was the song we sang yesterday while we enjoyed dairy for the first time in nine weeks. It was nothing short of glorious!! We ate yogurt and milk at breakfast. Then at lunch we feasted on pizza topped with heaping mounds of melted perfection and homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Afterward, everyone was satiated. No one asked for snacks before dinner. That in itself is music to my ears.

From the looks of it, everyone handled diary just fine. John had to go to the bathroom three times during church, so I'll be keeping an eye on him. We expected that Sean would have issues, but he did not for some reason. Of course, he knows not to drink a glass of milk straight out, so he just enjoyed the pizza and ice cream yesterday.

We are definitely in the homestretch. Red meat, peanuts and caffeine are all that remain. We are planning to celebrate Miriam's birthday on Thursday with some steak. That will be a special treat!

I've been collecting receipts and trying to learn how to be a wiser shopper. The bottom line is that is just costs more money to eat healthy and I need to learn to be okay with that. It seems backwards that foods with less ingredients are so much more, but it is the way our system works. As for healthy, affordable convenience foods these seem out of the question altogether. For example, a box of 12 small cookies costs $4.50. That's crazy!

It really has taken two months to figure out what the new normal is for our weekly grocery needs. Up until now, I'd found myself running out of food or missing that one important ingredient which would send me back to the store AGAIN. My plan is to weekly shop for fruits and veggies and stock up on what we need/what's on sale with the money that remains. This week it was paper goods, cleaning supplies and toiletries. Next week will be meat.

So, here's the shopping list for 9 people trying to eat without refined foods or artificial ingredients:

7 comments:

Have you tried cooking your own beans? We were eating so many beans that I finally started buying big bags of them dry, soaking them overnight, and cooking them in my crockpot. I portion them out and freeze them. The crockpot365.blogspot.com lady has a great recipe for pintos/refried beans. They come out tastier and cheaper, and I'm all for that!

So happy for you that dairy seems okay!!!! it's a shame that eating healthy costs so much more, but I hope in the end it will really cost "less" in terms of doctors bills and overall health. At least that's how I justify it. :)

Hi! I just found your blog and have read through all your elimination diet posts. I've been on an elimination diet for the last 2 weeks, and I have to say, your blog has given me some encouragement to keep on it. It was supposed to be a 28 day elimination diet, but I'm realizing now that it's probably going to take more time than that to see results.

"...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complain- ing or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing...." Philippians 2:12b-16

I often want to be the one to do big things for God. This verse reminds me that it is in doing the small things well and without complaining that I can be most useful to Him. So when I'm taking care of the sick and sweeping up the floor again and just got sauce on my only white shirt and somehow managed to drop a box of crayons down the dryer vent and my friend is hurting and my child is frustrated with school and I really don't feel like I can answer one more question.... I remember that this is my time to SHINE AGAIN.